Full Cast and Creative Team Announced for OPERATION MINCEMEAT in the West End

Following five sold-out development runs at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019 and Southwark Playhouse in 2020, 2021 & 2022, plus an extended Riverside Studios run last summer, the full cast and creative team for the West End premiere of Operation Mincemeat - a new musical, is announced today. Previews start on the 29th March, followed by an 8-week run beginning on the 9th May 2023, after thirty-three hugely successful years of The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre.

2023 Olivier Award nominated Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky's Edge, National Theatre) is director, following providing directorial support for the Riverside Studios run, while Olivier Award nominated Jenny Arnold (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) continues as choreographer. Also joining from Standing at the Sky's Edge at The National Theatre on the creative team are: 2023 Olivier Award nominated Ben Stones (Sylvia, The Old Vic) as set and costume designer, Tony Award, six-time Olivier Award and Bafta Award winning Mark Henderson (Girl From the North Country, Broadway & Noël Coward Theatre) as lighting designer and Olivier Award winning Mike Walker (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) as sound designer. Grammy Award winning and Tony, Emmy, Olivier award nominated Steve Sidwell (Beautiful: The Musical, Broadway & Aldwych Theatre) is orchestrator and vocal arranger. Georgie Staight joins Robert Hastie as Associate Director.

Understudies joining the previously announced 2023 Off-West End 'Best Musical Production' award winning returning cast, David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Jak Malone and Zoë Roberts, are: Seán Carey (returning from the Hammersmith Studios run), Geri Allan, Christian Andrews and Holly Sumpton. Casting is by Pearson Casting.

Operation Mincemeat is written and composed by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, who form SpitLip. The show is presented in the West End by Avalon (in association with SpitLip), who have supported since the Southwark Playhouse runs, alongside New Diorama Theatre and The Lowry.

Director Rob Hastie said "I'm a big fan of SpitLip's work, and fell in love with Operation Mincemeat from the start. I'm thrilled to have been working with the team to help develop the show since its run in Hammersmith, and we're all looking forward to the next stage of its evolution as we share this joyous story with the West End. I'm delighted to be getting back into the room with SpitLip and the company. They're everything you hope a gang like that will be - innovative, creative, collaborative, daring, excellent taste in rehearsal snacks."

SpitLip said "We are staggered and amazed at the amount of talent now propping up our sweaty, gnarled bodies. The light from their reflected glory is absolutely blinding and we plan to bathe in it for as long as physically possible. West End, let's go!"

Jon Thoday for Avalon said "we're very excited to be chosen by SpitLip to help bring this show to a wider audience at the Fortune Theatre in the West End"

The year is 1943 and we're losing the war. Luckily, we're about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse.

Singin' in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Noel Coward meets Noel Fielding, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler?

Operation Mincemeat won The Stage Debut award for Best Composer/Lyricist, the Off-West End award for Best Musical Production and Best Company Ensemble and following the first New Diorama Theatre run was listed in The Observer's Top 10 shows of the year and most recently was listed in The Independent's Top 15 shows of the year. The show is currently featured in the V&A's Re:Imagining Musicals display, exploring how musicals have continuously reimagined, reinvented and reinterpreted themselves over time.

The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat with additional support from Avalon.

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